Menopause has many interesting, seemingly unrelated symptoms. Women can
experience any combination of mood swings, insomnia, hot flashes, extreme
night sweats, achy joints, headaches, irritability, anxiety, trouble
concentrating, and even acne. Some women avoid menopause-induced acne, but
for at least one in ten menopause sufferers, pimples and blemishes are a
genuine problem. Some women have avoided pimples since they were
teenagers, yet suddenly the have a face full of them. The truth is,
though, teens and menopausal women have a number of things in common. Acne
is typically a result of hormone swings, which occurs extensively
throughout puberty and menopause. It can be very frustrating for women to
endure the added embarassment of blemishes when they're struggling to deal
with all of the other symptoms of menopause.
Menopausal acne occurs
for much the same reason that acne occurs during any other life stage. The
skin contains millions of sebaceous glands. These glands produce oil,
scientifically termed sebum. Skin cells are constantly regenerated. Old
ones die, are sloughed off and quickly replaced. When body hormones such
as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA run rampant, the
sebaceous glands become sensitive and start producing more sebum than
necessary. More skin cells begin to die. As a result, not only do you have
a surplus of facial oil, you also have a surplus of dead skin cells. Your
body cannot rid itself of the unwanted oil and dead cells fast enough.
Facial skin follicles get clogged with oil and dead cells.
White
heads occur as a result of bacteria. Excess sebum builds up under the
skin, naturally-occuring bacteria and the oil combine, creating an
inflamed area filled with white puss. Blackheads also occur as a result of
the combining of bacteria and oil with the addition of air that has leaked
in. As a result, the material caught in the pore turns black. Menopausal
acne identical to other acne, however. Both the follicles and sebaceous
glands on the face contain an enzyme. This particular enzyme can turn
estrogen into the hormone androgen testosterone. This has the ability to
increase oil production even further. This leads to even more breakouts
than a woman probably had as a teenager.
Menopausal acne can be
extremely frustrating. There are, however, ways to alleviate it. Begin by
examining your diet. It is important to eat foods that are high in fiber
and calcium. It is also recommended to cut back on your fat and
carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates can turn insulin into androgen
testosterone. This androgen too can increase the skin's sebum production.
Additionally, you might want ensure that you are consuming eight to ten
glasses of water each day.
In addition to dietary changes, you
might want to consider the addition of dietary supplements. There are so
many widely-available herbs vitamins, and minerals that can help alleviate
the body's excess oil production. Studies suggest that it is beneficial to
add Vitamin B and Vitamin C to your diet. In addition to diet and
supplements, you should cleanse your skin a minimum of twice daily.
Regular exfoliation rids the skin of those dead cells. Also, it is
beneficial to use a toner to close open pores.
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